Grand Valley State University students have helped Jenison Public Schools obtain $635 in grant funds to establish a lending library for parents of children with autism.
Students in Penney Nichols-Whitehead's Life Span Development class at Grand Valley put their skills to use in community service projects of their choice. One group, consisting of students Danielle DeWitt, Lorie Burkett, Lindsay Hall and Tara Stuive, chose to work with the Jenison Public Schools Students with Autism program, where DeWitt had done an internship.
"A little boy I had babysat for two and a half years began attending the Jenison Preschool autism program about the same time my group was selecting an organization in need," said DeWitt. "I wanted to help him in anyway that I could and saw this as an opportunity."
Her group visited the classroom, met some of the students and with Greg Morris, director of Special Education for Jenison Public Schools. Morris told them of their hopes for a "lending library" and a "lending locker."
"Parents of autistic children are bombarded with much false information and advertising claims for products that may or may not help their child," said Morris. "We have wanted to provide a library of accurate information and a locker of sensory items that have proven helpful for some children."
DeWitt's group spent the semester researching autism, talking with Morris about specific needs and then compiling information into a grant proposal he could submit to the Southeast Ottawa Community Foundation. Not everything on their list received funding, but a Jenison Public Schools autism intervention fund, Seeds of Hope, was able to purchase some additional items.
The Seeds of Hope Web site lists these alarming statistics:
- Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States.
- A child is diagnosed with autism every 21 minutes.
- Autism is a disorder of brain function affecting approximately 1
in 166 children born today, making it more common than pediatric
cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined.
- Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and
other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate
of 10-17 percent per year.
- At this rate, the Autism Society of America estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
